Crosshead mechanism of double-plunger pumps



H. G. LYKKEN.

' CROSSHEAD MECHANISM OF DOUBLE PLUNGER PUMPS. APPLICATION FILED AUG-20, 191 RENEWED MAY 28, 1920.

1,364,636. Patent/ed Ja 4,1921.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEQ HENRY G. LYKKEN, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR 'IO WESTERN PUMP AND MACHINERY COMPANY, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, A CORPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

GROSSHEAD MECHANISM OF DOUBLE-PLUNGER PUMPS.

Application filed August 20, 1918, Serial No. 250,655.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY G. LYKKEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at 8024 Portland avenue, Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Crosshead Mechanism of Double-Plunger Pumps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in the cross-head mechanism of the well known double plunger type of pumps, in which two pistons or plungers operate one above the other in a single barrel or cylinder. These pumps are chiefly used for deepwell work, where the level of the water may be hundreds of feet below the level of the earth, and are in themselves old and well known.

In the present types of pumps of the kind before mentioned, the upper plunger or piston is reciprocated by means of a hollow rod or pipe attached to a lower cross-head, which is reciprocated by suitable mechanism, while the lower plunger is operated by a solid rod passing through the hollow rod before mentioned and attached to an upper cross-head.

As is well known, these cross-heads are actuated by mechanisms which are in themselves old and well known, so that the said plungers are alternately moved toward and away from each other so that while one plunger goes down, the other comes up whereby a substantially continuous flow of water is secured.

This construction has led to numerous disadvantages. Since the cross heads were placed one above the other, the pump head had to be sufliciently high to accommodate twice the stroke or travel of each piston. Some types of pumps provide for a pit under the pump for the travel of the lower cross-head in an effort to keep down the height of the pump head, but this has led to the numerous objections to which pump pits are subject, so that they have been entirely forbidden in public water supplies.

In addition, the solid rod attached to the upper cross-head operated through a packing gland located in the lower cross-head so that the movement of the rod with respect to the said packing gland had twice the velocity of the piston itself because the said Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 4, 1921. Renewed May 28, 1920. Serial No. 385,066.

solid rod and the lower cross-head moved in opposite directions. This led to double the tear, trouble, and cost of upkeep. In addition, the arrangement of the cross-heads one above the other produced an unbalanced mechanism because the solid rod was much longer than the pipe, in many constructions so much as three feet longer.

According to my invention, a simple and effective means can be constructed which obviates these disadvantages and produces a low pump head and minimum wear and tear and vibration.

Other objects of my invention are disclosed in the following descriptions and drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, well known parts which are old in themselves being omitted for the sake of clarity.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my apparatus partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation.

Fig. 3 is a top view showing the two crossheads. g

A barrel or cylinder 1 is provided of any suitable length and of any suitable construction, in the well known manner. This has a foot valve at its bottom or in an other desired location, which is not shown in the drawings and is made according to the well known construction.

The plungers or pistons 14 and 16, provided with the gravity valves 15 and 151 are adapted to be reciprocated in the barrel 1. According to the well known construction, at the down stroke of the piston, the foot valve whichis not shown in the drawings, closes, While the gravity valve is opened, so that the piston merely passes through the air or water in the pipe and at the upstroke of the piston, the said foot valve is opened while the said gravity valve is closed, thus lifting the air or water above the valve or piston. The pistons and valves may be of any suitable construction.

The piston 14 is connected to a hollow pipe 12 which is connected to the yoke 11, the yoke 11 being connected by the rods 5 to the cross-head 4.

The lower piston 16 is actuated by a solid rod 3 which passes through the pipe 12, passes behind the cross-head 4 and is connected to the cross-head 2.

The rods 3 and 5 pass through glands 10, located in the gland plate 6, which is connected to the base 7 of the pump by the nuts 8 and the bolts 9. The lower nuts 8 may be replaced by flanges on bolts 9. The pins 17 and 18 of the cross-heads 2 and 4 are connected to any suitable actuating mechanism'for reciprocating them in opposite directions, and which is not shown in the drawings, and any suitable guides may be provided for the cross heads so as to enable them to be moved up and down in a straight line without vibration.

The cross-heads 2 and 4:, as can be seen from Fig. 3 operate side by side, each one operating between the same levels above the ground. In other words, the paths of the two cross-heads are parallel to each other and begin and end at the same levels, and at the centers of their respective strokes the said cross-heads are at the same level.

As can be seen from Fig. 3, the cross-head 2 is provided with a nose or projection that substantially fits into a correspondingly shaped depression in the cross-head 4; so that the rod 3 is exactly between the rods 5.

This together with the other arrangement of parts shown, minimizes vibration. This is because the cross-heads 2 and 4 can be guided as they move to and fro above the glands, so that they operate in straight lines, and impart no bending or twisting move ment to the pipe 12 or the solid rods 3 and In addition both the solid rod 3 and the pipe 12 and the solid rod 5 are symmetrically disposed with respect to the centers of the pistons which they actuate. Since the glands 10 of the base are located in the stationary gland plate 6 bolted to the base 7, there is no excessive wear and tear upon them for the reasons before mentioned. The vibration and wear and tear are further minimized by the fact that the rods 3 and 5 and the pipe 12 are straight, and are actuated by the separate cross-heads 2 and 4, which always transmit the actuating force to them along the central lines of these rods, so that no side or twisting movement is created.

I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention in a diagrammatic manner and without any special reference to the well known auxiliary parts, but it is obvious that numerous changes and omissions can be made in the details herein described without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim 2- 1. In a pump having a plurality of plungers placed and operating one above the other, spaced cross-heads adapted to reciprocate in parallel vertical lines, one of said cross-heads having a depression at one of its sides and the second cross-head having a projection substantially fitting into the said depression, the said second cross-head having a rod connected thereto at said projection and the other cross-head having two rods symmetrically disposed with respect to the said first mentioned rod, and on the same straight line therewith, the said first mentioned'rod being connected to one of said pistons and the second last mentioned rods being connected to the other of said pistons, and means for reciprocating said crossheads in opposite directions.

2. In combination, a pump barrel having two cylinders placed one above the other therein, a pump base at the upper end of said barrel, a gland plate having three glands located on the same straight line and equally spaced from each other and bolted to said pump base, a hollow pipe connected to the upper of said pistons and secured to a central horizontal yoke, solid vertical rods secured to said yoke, the axis of said hollow pipe being coincident with the axis with the central one of said glands and the axes of the solid rods connected to said yoke being coincident with the axes of the outer ones of said glands, a rod connected to the lower piston and passing through said pipe and said central gland, the said last mentioned rod being parallel and centrally located with respect to the rods connected to said yoke, the said rods connected to said yoke passing throughout said outer glands and being secured at one side of a cross-head and being symmetrically located with respect to a central depression in said side, and a second cross-head laterally spaced from the first and having a projection fitting into said depression and of substantially the same contour, the rod connected to said lower piston being secured to the said projection intermediate the points where the rods connected to said yoke are secured to their cross-head, the said crossheads being adapted to reciprocate side by side in parallel vertical lines and between the same vertical levels.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

HENRY G. LYKKEN. 

